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THE WRITER'S DIRECTORY OF PERIODICALS

THE fourth printing of this Directory - which is constantly oeing revised and enlarged began in THE WRITER for July, 1922. The information for it, showing the manuscript market and the manuscript requirements of the various publications listed, is gathered directly from the editors of the periodicals. Great pains are taken to make the information accurate and the Directory complete.

Before submitting manuscripts to any publication, it is advisable to secure a sample copy.

(Continued from January WRITER)

SPORTS AFIELD (M), 542 South Dearborn st., Chicago, Ill. $2.00; 20c. Claude King, editor.

Prints general articles, short stories, serials, poetry, and occasional humorous verse, using anything about shooting, fishing, adventure, wild and frontier life, life in remote places, etc. Sets length limit at from 800 to 2,500 words; sometimes buys photographs, prefers fiction of a sportsmanlike character, with the purely love element mentioned, but not the "be all and the end all" of the story and seldom pays for manuscripts, excepting when especially agreed upon with the author.

SPUR (B-M) 425 Fifth ave., New York. $7.00; 35c.
H. S. Adams, editor.

Uses articles on sport and travel topics, which are usually obtained by special arrangement. Sets length limit at from 1,000 to 1,500 words, prints no fiction, and buys photograph. Payment varies according to the character of the manuscript.

SQUARE DEAL (M), Challenge Publishing Company, 17 West 60th st., New York. Arthur Howland, editor; Leonard D. Abbott, associate editor. Publication temporarily suspended.

STAGE AND SCREEN (M), 104 West 42d st., New York. $2.50; 25c. Frank Armer, editor.

Uses short stories, novelettes, serials, and Juvenile matter, sets length limit at 2,000 words, and pays on publication.

STANDARD BIBLE WORKER (Q), Box 5, Station N,
Cincinnati, Ohio. Edwin R. Errett, editor

Uses articles on methods in church school work, either as to general administration, or relating to any special department. Sets length limit at 5,000 words, and pays from fifty cents a hundred words upward.

STARCHROOM LAUNDRY JOURNAL (M), 415 Commercial square, Cincinnati, Ohio. $3.00; 25c. Albert Stritmatter, editor.

Uses anything that will interest laundry owners. Particularly interested in illustrated articles showing novel advertising stunts, and fine automobile delivery systems, especially if accompanied by costs of operation. Sets no length limit, but seldom uses anything containing more than 2,000 or 3,000 words. Buys photographs of interesting laundry plants, or of

prominent men in the industry, or of displays of laundry windows, or at "House Beautiful" expositions, etc. Prints no fiction. Pays according to the nature of the article.

STORYLAND (W), Christian Board of Publication, 2704-2714 Pine st., St. Louis, Mo. Hazel A. Lewis, editor.

A Sunday-school paper for children under nine years old. Uses stories, of from 300 to 1,000 words; simple handicraft articles, of from 300 to 500 words; poems, not longer than twenty lines; and drawings or photographs (glossy prints) with child and animal subjects. STRATFORD MAGAZINE (M), 234 Boylston street, Boston, Mass. $1.00; 15c. Henry T. Schnittkind, editor.

Uses occasional short stories, both original and translations, brief general articles, and poetry. Does not pay for manuscripts, but once every four months awards a prize of $100 for the best poem published in the magazine during the preceding four months.

STUDENTS' ART MAGAZINE (B-M), Kalamazoo, Michigan. $1.00; 10c. Guy H. Lockwood, editor.

Does not buy manuscripts. Publishes cash art assignments, lessons and articles on cartooning, designing, illustrating, and chalk-talking, poetry, and jokes. Buys photographs.

SUCCESS (M), 251 Fourth ave., New York. $3.00; 25c. David A. Balch, editor.

A magazine for the family. Uses inspirational, personality articles, general articles, short stories, serials, novelettes, poetry, humorous verse, and jokes, but no plays, and no juvenile matter. Sets length limit for short stories at 7,500 words, and for serials at 60,000 words, buys photographs, and pays, at a minimum rate of two cents a word.

SUCCESSFUL FARMING (W), 1714 Locust st., Des
Moines, Iowa. 25c.; 5c. A. H. Snyder, editor.

Prints mostly practical articles based on experience on subjects pertaining to farming and farm life. Uses a few short stories, a few general articles, a very little poetry and humorous verse, and bedtime stories for children. Sets length limit at 2,000 words, buys photographs, and pays, at a minimum rate of one-half cent a word. SUNBEAM (W), Presbyterian Board of Publication, 419 Witherspoon Building, Philadelphia, Penn John T. Faris, D. D., editor.

A four-page paper for very little people in the Sunday school. Uses jingles, stories of from 300 to 500 words, and photographs interesting to children. Pays on the fifteenth of the month following acceptance.

CONTINUED ON INSIDE BACK COVER

CAN AUTHORS' MONTHLY FORUM J

Volume 39

LAST

BOSTON, February, 1927

The Manuscript Club Idea

By WILLIAM D. KENNEDY

II. — Announcing a National Association

AST month I discussed in an introductory article the need for, and the value of, cooperation among writers to promote mutual interests in training for successful authorship and in the marketing of manuscripts. This need, it appeared, was best satisfied by the manuscript club, defined as a small group of free-lance writers meeting regularly to criticize the literary output of its members and to suggest markets for this output. No other agency, commercial or educational, seemed quite so promising as this, since it duplicated best the type of professional training which has produced, and is producing, the most successful writers. This, together with its complete flexibility, its inexpensiveness, its infinite possibilities for expansion and development, commended the manuscript club idea as a great potential force in American letters and influenced me to adopt its sponsorship as one of our editorial policies.

Over a year ago, the suggestion was made to me, by an influential man of letters, that we organize, through THE WRITER, a national association of successful writers and aspirants by consolidating existing manuscript clubs. He thought that this could be done without trespassing on the provinces of such outstanding organizations as The Authors' League of America, by emphasizing an altogether differ

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ent type of service to members. I discussed the idea with others and the consensus of opinion was that such a movement must proceed carefully or the prestige of THe Writer among editors and successful authors might be damaged. There are a certain number of so-called writers' and literary clubs scattered around the country, composed of pseudoliterary snobs, and having as a reason for existence only mutual sympathy and congratulations and the lionizing of successful writers. To actual creative work they never descend. I assured my advisers that when, as, and if, THE WRITER really got behind a national movement it would attempt to consolidate the workers and let the snobs find their peculiar satisfactions in their own ways. The simplest way to separate the "workers" from the "joiners" is to place the existence for such a national organization on the basis of its practical service to members as literary workers..

The interest aroused by the publication of the first article of this series has been so great both among writers and publishers that the formation of a national association of manuscript clubs on an experimental basis is now in order.

Most editors are eager to find new writers. On the other hand, the burden of sifting the

great mass of unsolicited literary material which comes to them is becoming more and more onerous. More and more the weight of this labor is falling on the literary agents. Since the earnings of the agents depend on the percentage of the price realized from the sale of manuscripts they can scarcely be blamed for selecting their clients with the utmost care. This tendency is continually operating to cut down the opportunities of new writers for obtaining a fair hearing in spite of the fact that the demand for all types of literary material is increasing steadily.

The ranks of the larger agencies which handle almost entirely the work of wellestablished writers are now being joined by others of a new type. These smaller agents, many of them having excellent editorial connections, should be useful units in the machinery of marketing manuscripts. On the other hand, most of them lead a precarious existence until they find a sufficient number of good clients, for their income is usually derived entirely from a fee based on the price brought by manuscripts. If they advertise for new clients they receive a great mass of unworthy material all of which must be read at an inordinate expense of time and effort. The temptation to charge a reading fee is strong, yet the precedents of the leading agents are against this practice and newcomers are afraid to risk a loss of prestige by making a charge for reading manuscripts except those of regular clients. There is some tendency to break away from these precedents they may not be worth preserving. We have been beseeched many times to assist in some way in finding a solution to the problem of the young writer, but it is just as difficult and costly for us to read manuscripts as for the agents to read them. We also should suffer loss of prestige if we should establish a literary agency and charge a reading fee. On the other hand, we can give a certain amount of marketing advice if the material submitted is carefully selected before it comes to us. The preliminary sifting and selection can apparently be done in one

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way and one only. Writers must do it themselves through manuscript clubs. Only through some sort of national association of these clubs can any comprehensive plan be worked out.

The general outline of the plan is this: any group of six or more people may register their club as a provisional member of the Association; on or before May 1st, 1927, one manuscript selected from the work of all members as the most promising may be submitted to THE WRITER for free marketing services. This is limited to short fiction, to novels and to non-fiction book lengths (except collections of poetry) which have never before been submitted to editors. We make no guarantee that these manuscripts will be placed; on the other hand, we will make every effort to effect a sale of those which we consider worthy through our own connections with editors and publishers and through various reputable literary agents. If a manuscript is turned over by us to agents, it is understood that the author will pay to the agent the regular commission based on the price realized for the manuscript. THE WRITER itself will make no charge for this service and will collect no additional fee on the sale.

Application may now be made for provisional membership in the following form: National Association of Manuscript Clubs THE WRITER, Harvard Square, Cambridge, Mass. Gentlemen:

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It may be necessary at any time to withdraw this offer if too many applications are received. Acceptance will be in order of application.

It is understood that this Association is purely temporary and experimental in nature. The experiment is to be tried only on demand of readers of THE WRITER who would like an attempt made to meet a problem which seems to demand solution. Whether the Association will be made permanent depends entirely on the success of the experiment. Clubs will be judged by the quality of work submitted, and it is quite probable that after May 1, the permanent organization, if effected, will be by invitation to those clubs which appear most promising. Units of any other national or local association are eligible for provisional admission. A small group or "inner circle" of a larger club may be enrolled under another name. As a test of the reception which such a movement might receive among publishers, I called upon Mr. Greenslet, editor of Houghton Mifflin Company, and discussed the matter with him. Here is the letter he wrote me as a result.

"Following our conversation the other afternoon, I am writing to say that this House is always not only willing but eager to read first manuscripts by new authors. We are, therefore, decidedly interested in your plan for work in connection with the manuscript clubs of the country and shall welcome the opportunity of considering anything that you can send us."

Passing to the question of the professional adviser, I do not claim that lectures by editors, authors, and poets may not be an important part of the activities of any writers' club, only that it should not be the sole activity. But ask yourself this: can any such speech by a successful writer possibly compare in interest or value with his informal criticism of a manuscript, however imperfect, that is read to him? You can learn more about his methods of work and how to employ the same methods by seeing him act creatively upon another's attempt at creation than you possibly can from hearing him talk, though he chatter on till doomsday.

For comparison, picture this scene. The pupils of a great sculptor have labored long

in imitating his finished work. One of them, daring greatly, strikes away from the models. and tries the creation of a figure of his own in clay. The master enters, sees the composition, and calls his pupils around it. He breaks off the head, sets it at a slightly different angle, mending the crack roughly with clay. About the body he cuts a little here, adds a little there. It takes him perhaps three minutes. He says to the pupil whose work it is, "Now finish it off" and walks away. The students study in silence and changed posture and proportion of the figure. Rough and unfinished as it is, it now has the line and fire of life, where before it had been dead and unreal. They have learned more in that three minutes than they could have learned by listening to a hundred hours of lectures or copying a hundred models.

Literature in its essence I speak in particular of the artistic form of literature differs little from the other arts. If you can get a master craftsman to show you those few deft strokes you can learn what the pupils of the sculptor learn from him. For example, the professional writer's criticism of a manuscript might be more along this line - "The final speech of your heroine is not in character. You haven't convinced us that she would talk like that. No- don't change it it is essential to the plot. Prepare for it by proper grading. I notice two or three places in the story, here on page eight for instance, and on page twelve, second paragraph - where you can make her say something expressing a similar point of view. Then the reader won't be surprised when she talks as she does in the end." Could an author of standing occasionally be persuaded to join the criticism of a manuscript club meeting as a guest? Would he come if invited? The only way to find out is to try. Whenever I have talked the Manuscript Club idea to successful writers I have found them intensely interested. Most of them remark that they have never heard of such a movement, that it would have been of incomparable benefit to them in their earlyand later development. Most successful

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